New Guitar Hero to Be ‘More Realistic,’ Report Claims

It looks like Activision is restringing the Gibson and Rickenbacker for Guitar Hero's first major console release in five years.

Forget all those Rock Band rumors for a minute, as the original, plastic peripheral-based music game that put Harmonix on the map is supposedly returning with a new gig. That's right, Guitar Hero is (hopefully) making a comeback, Kotaku reports. Originally developed by Harmonix, the Guitar Hero series had numerous sequels and spin-offs made by Neversoft, Budcat Creations and Vicarious Visions. Two separate, insider sources claim that Activision is prepping a new Guitar Hero game for a 2015 launch, with a big unveiling planned to happen at E3 2015.

One source claims that this entry of Guitar Hero will be "more realistic" in its visuals compared to its previous Star Power-running entries, which adhered to a more cartoonish style of graphics. This means that the in-game performers and crowds would abandon those Toy Story-esque character models. As expected, new guitar peripherals are said to be in development for this title, which will hit the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One -- it's not like you were hoping to use your old Warriors of Rock guitars on your current-gen consoles anyway.

When asked about this supposed leak, an Activision representative said the following:

"We don't comment on rumour or speculation, but have previously said, that as one of the most beloved entertainment franchises, we would only bring Guitar Hero back if we developed the right innovations to usher the franchise into the new generation of gaming."

The final part of that Activision statement sounds awfully enticing. Here's to hoping Activision doesn't force annual Guitar Hero titles down our throats with a new guitar each time, as an oversaturation of peripherals and spin-offs happening to Guitar Hero and Rock Band helped lead to disinterest in both series during the late 2000s.